In the computing space, middleware is often used to perform integrations of systems and applications, thus serving as a communication and data exchange intermediary between the systems and applications. The usage of middleware allows disparate systems and applications to run processes and share services without the ability or need for establishing direct communication with one another. Typically, middleware exists as a separate and distinct software entity from the applications that it seeks to connect.
However, traditional forms of middleware as described above introduce a number of problems. For instance, the fact that middleware exists outside of the applications necessarily requires the individual applications to be specifically programmed to communicate with the middleware. In other words, the application must contain both logic (i.e. payload) code as well as middleware-facing code to communicate with the external middleware. If the configuration of the middleware were to change, for instance due to a change in industry standards for integration, it will become necessary to modify the code for both the middleware and the application to enable communication via the new standard. This can be costly to implement and may consume resources that could otherwise be spent improving the logic code. Furthermore, the execution of traditional forms of middleware imposes a heavy burden on computing resources such as processing power and network efficiency, due to the relatively large overheads associated with the large sizes of the applications and the middleware.
Accordingly, there is a need for a more resource-efficient way to facilitate communication between systems and applications, as well as an easier way to ensure compatibility with new developments in communication protocols.